TRUMP-SYRIA-SPEECH

Donald Trump defended his decision to bombard a Syrian airstrip with more than 50 Tomahawk missiles tonight from his Mar-a-Lago resort, declaring the destabilized situation in that country and the decisions made by its leader, Bashar al-Assad, put the U.S. in danger.

An uncorrected transcript from closed captioning follows.

On Tuesday, syrian dictator bashar al-assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. Using a deadly nerve agent, he choked out the lives of helpless men, women, and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many. Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of god should ever suffer such horror. Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria from where the chemical attack was launched.

It is in this vital national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the spread of deadly chemical weapons. There can be no dispute that syria used chemical weapons. Violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the u.N. Security council. Years of previous attempts of changing a asada behavior hasl failed and failed very dramatically. As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen in the region continues to destabilize. Threatening the united states and its allies.

Tonight I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in syria. And also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types. We ask for god’s wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world. We pray for the lives of the wounded and for the souls of those who have passed and we hope that as long as america stands for justice, then peace or harmony will in the end prevail. Good night, and god bless america, and the entire world, thank you.